


A Being of Love

by Lohrendrell



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-04-07 03:01:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4246929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lohrendrell/pseuds/Lohrendrell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose was a being of love; of that, she knew. And she couldn't be there for Steven, but, still, there was hope he would inherit that trait of hers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Being of Love

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot stop thinking of how it must have been for Rose and Greg while she was pregnant. And then, well, feels. :) New to the fandom, new to the characters, very insecure, please tell me your thoughts!

In all the many, many years she spent living on Earth, of all the amazing things she saw and experienced, Rose Quartz couldn’t think of any that could surmount this: an ordinary day on the beach, the sun nearly set, Greg a few meters from her, serenading gibberish to anything his eyes laid upon, and the child in her belly kicking every once in a while, as if trying to accompany the songs.

“You look peaceful.”

She recognized the voice, so she didn’t have to look to see Garnet sitting by her side on the sand.

“I am,” Rose said with a smile on her face.

Garnet had a plate of sliced mangoes and strawberries in her hands, which she promptly gave to Rose.

Taking the plate, Rose thanked her. “You’re right on time,” she added.

As embarrassing at that was, Rose had to admit she still hadn’t gotten used to eat all the time. Although eating could be an enjoyable activity, her body didn’t need it, and so she often forgot to do it. The baby needed more than her energy to be nurtured healthily, so she went through that act constantly. She was very lucky to have everyone around her remind her of that task every few hours.

(And, of course, the baby’s kicking in complaints when everyone else’s memories failed.)

“What is that?” Garnet asked. Rose looked down to see the open book rested on her lap.

“Oh.” She took the book and showed the blue and pink cover to Garnet, where it was written Boys and Girls Names. “Human babies names,” she explained, smiling. Garnet kept looking at her, but didn’t say anything, so Rose felt the need to explain further: “Y’know, for the baby that’s coming?” She caressed her own belly.

“You’re gonna name her before her birth?”

“I knew you’d say that.” Rose chuckled. “You see, most humans have the habit of choosing their offspring’s name even before they’re born. Greg told me. So, considering she’ll be half human, I thought I could take a look on some baby names. I thought it was… sweet, you know?” 

“Why not a Crystal Gem name?”

Rose took a slice of mango in her mouth before answering: “I’m not sure, I… I’m just fascinated by what they have in here. See…” 

Placing her plate on the sand by her side, she flipped a few pages of the book and lifted it again, pointing to a word in the middle of a page so Garnet could read.

“Ophelia,” she read out loud. “It means help. And this other one.” She flipped a few more pages, pointed again. “Ada. It means happy. Isn’t it beautiful?” She caressed her belly again, where Ada or maybe Ophelia kicked softly, as if trying to show she appreciated both choices.

Garnet was silent, which rocked Rose’s fantasies a little bit.

“She’s gonna be half Gem, though,” Garnet finally stated. “Gems name themselves.”

Rose knew that, of course, but going through that book with Greg the previous night had been so fun. Greg knew so many names, it was incredible. And Rose, she… she appreciated the sentiment of having influence on her child’s life, especially when it came to something important as her name, considering Rose herself wouldn’t be there to see her growing up.

“Hey, Garnet!”

Immersed in her own thoughts as she was, Rose hadn’t seen Greg approaching, which caused his happy greet to startle her a little.

“Scared you?” Greg asked, obvious concern in his face. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m fine,” Rose replied, smiling at him and gesturing for him to sit by her other side.

“Hello, Greg,” Garnet greeted.

“Hey,” Greg said again. He reached out to take a strawberry from Rose’s plate and saw the book on her lap. “You were talking about names?”

“Yes,” Garnet answered quickly.

“Cool. Ohhh, Rose, I forgot to tell you!” he said excitedly, turning his body so he could sit facing Rose. “Yesterday night, after we saw all those girl names, right? I had this dream—” his eyes started to shine “—of this beautiful little girl with pink hair running around in the beach. And her name was Tourmaline!”

He finished louder than when he’s stated, smiling broadly, and threw his arms around, as if trying to explain the magnitude of what he was talking about. He waited for the Gem’s commentary, but they didn’t came.

Both Rose and Garnet had gone quiet right after hearing that name.

“What is it?” Greg lowered his arms, and his smile faltered. “I said something wrong?”

“Uh…” Rose started, just to stop right afterwards, not knowing what to say. Part of her was glad Greg couldn’t read her memories, didn’t know all of the Gems’ history.

“Aura Quartz,” Garnet said out of nowhere, with a definite tone.

“What?” Greg asked.

“Aura Quartz,” Garnet repeated. “It’s a good name.”

Greg’s eyes immediately shined again with amazement, and Rose breathed with relief.

“That’s beautiful!” Greg said, excited all over again. He turned to Rose. “What do you think, sweetie?”

Rose couldn’t help smiling back. “Lovely,” she said. It seemed like it was enough for Greg, because he quickly got up and run to where he’d left his guitar. A few seconds later had an improvised song about a girl named Aura Quartz running through the beach echoing through the air.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Garnet answered.

They stayed quiet for a while, just listening to Greg’s song. Rose couldn’t help watching the love of her life playing, so clumsy and at the same time so majestic. He was born for this, Rose knew. To emit sounds, to create music. Rose wished she could listen to his songs for all eternity. However… it was an impossible dream, she knew. Yet…

“You’re worrying.”

The words sounded soft, but Rose could hear the concern hidden in them. She took a strawberry from the plate and took her time to eat it.

“I can’t help thinking of when she’s born. I’ll be gone and…” She took a deep breath. “I won’t be here for you all anymore. For you, for Amethyst, for Pearl.” She eyed Greg. “And neither for him.”

“You sound like you’re regretting.”

“Do I?” Rose asked, genuinely surprised. “Well, I’m not.” She caressed her belly again, something that was slowly becoming a habit. “I just… Like you said, I worry. That’s all.”

More time passed. She took another strawberry, and then another slice of mango.

“Aura Quartz,” she whispered between her breath. That was a really beautiful name. If only she could be there to meet her.

“That’s not the correct name.”

Surprised, Rose looked at Garnet, who appeared to be watching the waves of the ocean. “Garnet?”

“She won’t be a she. He’ll be a boy. And he’s gonna be different from everything the Gems have ever known.”

That took Rose completely out of guard. “Can you see it? Tell me,” she pleaded, trying, but not all that hard, to not sound too desperate.

Garnet shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Garnet, please.”

“Telling you will bring bad consequences.” By her tone Rose could see Garnet was not kidding, and there was nothing left but accept it.

Still, it didn’t erase Rose’s need for more.

“At least tell me his name.”

Long minutes passed before Garnet answered: “Steven.”

“Steven,” Rose repeated. She had never heard the word before, she didn’t know its meaning, but it still made her smile.

Rose was a being of love; of that, she was sure, and no one could counter that statement. Staying on Earth only whetted that ability. There were many, many, many, many things she grew to love while on Earth, but it was with a bit of guilt and a lot of satisfaction that she admitted to herself none of them could ever compare to him.

“Steven,” she repeated, again and again, caressing her belly, hoping that the meaning of the gesture would get to her son. Steven kicked her in return, hard, in a way he’d never done before, as if trying to show her that, yes, it did, and the feeling was reciprocated.

Rose felt like screaming from joy.

“Can you tell me more about him?”

Garnet didn’t answer. Predictable, Rose thought, as she took a strawberry from the plate.

“I bet he’s gonna be charismatic. Like his father. And love music. Just like his father.”

Silence. From both Garnet and Greg, who had, in the past minutes, laid down on the sand and apparently fallen asleep.

“He’s gonna be strong, I can tell. I can feel it.” She caressed her belly. “Ugh, and he’s gonna love these!” she added as she took another strawberry. They were almost over.

“Stop trying to take it from me. I won’t blurt it out,” Garnet told her, which made Rose laugh.

“Alright, sorry, sorry.” She took another strawberry. “I’m just really excited, you know? I bet it’s gonna be so great. And you,” she teased, eyeing Garnet, “are going to love Steven so much.”

Garnet didn’t answer, but her lips did curve in a smile, which told Rose everything.

“Ha! I knew it!” she nearly screamed, and laughed again. “It’s gonna be amazing,” she said, eyeing Greg’s sleeping form, the ocean, the sand. Some kind of melancholy reached her, then, and suddenly she felt the heavy truth that she wouldn’t be there anymore fall in her shoulders.

Another strawberry.

“At least tell me something,” Rose started, slowly. “Is he gonna find love—” she eyed Greg; he appeared to be shivering from the cold “—like you and I did?”

It was her main concern, really. Because she knew what the world could offer — bad and good — to anyone who lived in it. She knew Steven, even with the Gems’ company most of the time, would find himself alone sometimes, for the solely fact he was human and he was Gem; he was a kind of being no one had ever met before; he was different.

And she knew — and hoped — that it could all be surpassed with a good, healthy amount of love.

And she knew, at the same time, how much she and Garnet were lucky. Because Gems, with all their power and immortality and never ending knowledge… they weren’t taught how to love. They were only taught to war.

Which was, and always had been, in Rose’s opinion, the most tragic fact about their people.

Garnet stayed silent for a long period of time, staring at the sand.

Then, slowly, as if reluctantly, she broked it with a whisper: “Connie.”

It was a new word for Rose, but somehow she understood it was a name. In her belly, Steven kicked a little hard, as if to declare he’d understood it too.

Rose smiled, calmed Steven with a caress. “Thank you,” she said to Garnet, who smiled back. Then, Rose got up and walked to Greg’s van to retrieve a blanket.


End file.
